Setting Standards Using Competencies

I believe that it is vital that managers and staff know what is expected of them if they are to maximise their own performance and contribution to the business. It is common for most organisations to set expectations in terms of what managers are responsible for by using job descriptions and possibly personal objectives / targets.

However, it is also important to set expectations about how job responsibilities should be discharged and targets delivered as I believe it is unacceptable for managers staff to deliver these at ‘any cost’. For example, while a manager may meet his or her targets, it should not be to the detriment of their team (for example in terms of personal relationships, trust, motivation etc).

But what is the best or most appropriate way of doing this? The way that I have done this in the past is by setting behavioural expectations or ‘competencies’ for my managers. I describe a competency as ‘a behaviour that delvers effective or superior performance in a job’. In other words a competency is about an ability to do something and as such comprises a combination of skills, knowledge and personal motivation that result in particular behaviour (or outcome) at work. For example, I have set behavioural expectations (competencies) for my managers in areas such as:

* Leading and motivating staff
* Working with others as part of a team
* Developing themselves and others
* Communication
* Ownership and personal responsibility
* Delivering results
* Continuous improvement
* Customer service.

In addition, I set three ‘levels’ of competence for the different levels of management hierarchy, (team leaders, department managers, directors). Clearly what I expected in terms of leadership from a director was different from what I expected from a team leader.

By doing this I clearly communicated to my managers the standards that I expected for successful performance in each of their roles. In addition, it provided me with a means of objectively assessing each manager’s strengths and weaknesses which formed the basis for their personal development.

The proof of the pudding, however, is always in the eating. While setting the competence standards, assessing and reviewing performance and supporting the manager’s development took a great deal of effort, both I and the business were greatly rewarded. Not only did we change the culture of the business from a reactive ‘I will only do what I am told’ style to a more proactive and empowered one, we also dramatically improved performance and customer service. So competencies, if used in the right way really do work!